The first time I heard Rema’s song was in Agbor, Delta State, where I ran a successful locksmith enterprise. I was going to work and decided to have my breakfast. That was how I heard “Corny”. I asked the young man playing the song, “Who the hell is this guy?” He asked, “Don’t you know Rema?” I already knew this unique sound was packed with all the deliciousness of good music. However, I was too cautious to go check out other songs. Some artists are just one-hit wonders. Not Rema. When he coughs on the microphone, trust me, it is a hit.
You hear a random hit track and it’s exciting and intoxicating. You go check out the rest of the album and you want to plug your ears forever with cotton wool.
I checked out ”Dumebi”. But I began to explore his previous discography. I discovered my all-time favourite song, “Trap Out the Submarine”. With the likes of Juice Wrld, Xxxtentacion, Trap Music was the rave at the moment and Rema did so well. It was quite impressive as he flowed on the beat like a professional rapper from California.
Then later we had “Calm Down” and from that moment onwards, the world has never calmed down again. If you think I am lying, ask Selena Gomez.
At my junction in Ugbowo area, I saw a billboard advertising his latest album. Debut album actually. “Raves and Roses”. The artwork was spellbinding and we naturally began to look for hidden clues.
Artwork aside, the album itself which featured Chris Brown was incredible. No bad songs. I had it on replay for months. I played it every day. I usually have a playlist on whenever I am writing. And during that period of my life, I was starting a new career. I was writing “Village Square” and “Chop and Clean Mouth” and I needed a playlist to help me focus.
It was when I began to research Divine Ikubor’s profile I learnt that he comes from Benin City. I was surprised but not too surprised.
I always keep saying that the Edo people are low key ambitious. They make silent underground moves. Strategic moves. Calculated moves in their quest for success without being ostentatious about it. And before you know it, them don blow.
Anyway, before this article gets boring, let me analyse my favourite slice of slices from Rema’s eclectic discography. I’ll begin with:
Calm Down: What’s there not to love about this international hit? The percussion? The rhythm? The power of the music? The paradoxical intention of Rema telling us to calm down made the whole world find exactly no reason to do just that. How do you calm down when one of the most exciting songs in the world is blaring through your speakers?
Trap Out the Submarine: Listening to this record makes you feel like you are in “the abroad” a.k.a Evbo-Ebo. Rema delivers fire on this unique sound and voice and lyrical artistry. Especially lyrical artistry. The existential angst inherently laden in a musical track like this showcases Rema’s ageless wisdom. This is not surprising. When you lose your loved ones and have to cope with tremendous grief at an early age, you have to grow up pretty fast. My favourite lyrics from this song are: “How can I be wrong for this?” and “I told them, I was born for this.”
Spaceship Jocelyn: This masterfully written song – Rema writes his songs by himself anyway – tells a short story about a relationship between the author and a girl he had to break up with in order to stay focused in his ascension to the top of his career. Hence the expression, “Spaceship in my eyes”, a metaphor for “I want to be massively successful and don’t want anyone or anything to hold me back”. Of course, anyone who has ever struggled for long without any breakthrough is going to be intolerant of any hindrances to their rise and life purpose. However, Rema tries to get us to elicit sympathy for his cause, to help us understand that the true cost of fame and success might be the painful severance of a prospective relationship.
Why?: Have you ever been heartbroken or rejected before? Don’t worry, Rema is here to help you express how you feel. The question we always ask when we feel this way is “Why?” This is essential if we want to find out how to improve ourselves so as to not be rejected again. This applies to relationships as well as career opportunities.
Peace of Mind: What is every human being looking for? Peace of mind. It is the ultimate goal of any sane human being. After running all over the world in the quest for fame and money and success, Rema, like Citizen Kane from the 1941 Hollywood movie and other adults like us who have been forced to grow up pretty fast, is looking for his “Rosebud”. That point, that moment, that golden age in our life where everything was peaceful and blissful. When we actually felt at peace with ourselves and the whole world. That point in time when we were just ourselves and had no need to pay bills or impress anyone. It’s painful to grow up fast.
Dumebi: The ”Dumebi” song did not make such sense to me until I paid more repetitive attention to the words “Dumebi don go carry belle”. Rema himself says it was just a freestyle. But I believe songs are not only for the artists. Everyone brings their experience to any work of art. I am inspired for a new story with this ”Dumebi” of a song. Now, imagine you love someone called Dumebi very deeply and they got pregnant for someone else. Let me stop there.
Corny: This was the first song of Rema I heard. I knew, yes, this guy has it. I didn’t get much from the lyrics here, but the vocals and rhythmic appeal were sensational. Especially with that Indian-like sounding vocals he invented for himself to make himself stand out. “Baby nor go do, do, do, do corny my baby oh. Do, do, do, do, corny my baby oh. Do, do, do, do corny ah. Oh oh oh.”
Iron Man: “Come make I be your iron man.” The rhythm of this song is heavenly. That’s why I am encouraging you to go listen to this hit song right about now.
Ginger Me: Oh, I love a good love song. “Baby na your love wey dey ginger me, you dey give me love and the energy only you wey dey high me like Hennessy”. Love is intoxicating and so is the melody of this song. What can I say? If you are not in love yet, there are many men and women out there. Why not go out there and grab one for yourself?
Charm: This song has a mystical charming effect on the listener. Rema even invented a dance style for this song. It is charming. I love the guitar sound by the way. I love guitars.
Troublemaker: This song spoke to me through the spirit. Check out these lyrics: “How many dues wey the boy don pay? How many insult I go take-uh?” Wow. Fantastic intro to one hell of a song. And the chorus: “Them say I be troublemaker, I dey disturb everybody. Leave me, leave me, leave me make I do my thing, nor judge me. Make you sef reason … I go still pass them even though them use extra sheet.” Here he talks about his struggles in the tough and unforgiving terrain of the music industry and his clapbacks against his contentious doubters and antagonistic contemporaries. He promises to keep living up to his reputation as a troublemaker, disturb everybody with his back-to-back hit.
Holiday: Rema broaches his ghetto story in this emotional song where he goes down memory lane. And celebrates his success as every day seems like a holiday for him.
Bonus: Are You There?: In this sociopolitical song, Rema addresses the economic situation of Nigeria. The music video for this song is colourful, comical, and then thoughtful and leaves a lot to be desired.
In conclusion, I feel extremely pained that I could only talk about a slice of Rema’s voluminous discography. His songs are quite inspirational and have personally helped me get through difficult times.
I celebrate his success. I celebrate the musical prodigy of bangers that is Divine Ikunbor. Whenever I hear, “Another Banger”, I just know, yes, something good is coming into my eardrums. When he performed at the O2 Arena and at the FIFA Balon d’Or event, I was like, “Wow! One of the world best musicians is entertaining the world best footballers.”
Thank you, Rema, for taking Edo To The World.
